Best of the Best: Stellaris

 Another one of my most favourite gaming time sinks is Stellaris, by Paradox Interactive. Released in 2016 and expanded/iterated upon since 9 years, it is THE space 4X game and the first one I liked better than Master of Orion 2 (released 1996).

Explore the galaxy, meet new species and hug and/or kill them, build an empire.

It is a complex game and not without long term issues centered about performance and AI (both issues being genre staples as well). Yet it shines as the ultimate sandbox for emergent SciFi strategy, having slowly incorporated most tropes of the field. Emulate the Galactic Empire from Star Wars, the Federation from Star Trek, or the Tyranids from Warhammer 40K? Sure, why not multiplayer all of them in the same game? How about a ring world to go with that? No matter if you want to turn the galaxy in a garden of wonders or utterly wreck it, there are dozens of playstyles available. With galactic archeology, anomalies, and space fauna, the void is everything but empty.

Release your inner empire if you dare.

Best of the Best: Vampire Survivors

 Vampire Survivors is another case of "well, of course it is good, look at all the hype around it". Sure, it is not unknown, but I am writing about my personal GOATs here.

In short, Vampire Survivors has you move around a character besieged by waves of enemies. The character automatically attacks with the weapons they have equipped. Player agency is about picking weapons and where to go, trying to survive till the stage's timer end. This is framed in a Castlevania-ish style and story rudiment. Collected gold allows general upgrades and character unlocks.

But the "true" game starts when you stop surviving and start hunting. As soon as you have figured out how to beat the enemy growth curve, it turns into a game of unlocking content and exploring secrets.

As a big bonus, the game completed the circle and features an official and ginormous Castlevania DLC, allowing us to scratch this itch once again.

Who doesn't enjoy fragging 100k opponents as Alucard?

In its totality, Vampire Survivors is completionist dopamine-farming done perfectly, sold cheaply and without microtransactions. I have put more hours into it than in most AAA games I played, as it is perfect to let the brain cool off after a long day of sciencing.

Stay epic!

Best of the Best: Vorkosigan Saga

 To continue from fantasy to SciFi recommendations: My greatest "discovery" of the last years was the Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold. It is a series that is mostly military SciFi and mostly following the exploits of Miles Vorkosigan, who is the scion of a noble house, crippled by poison before birth, and also an utter rascal.

What makes the somewhat standard storylines work is Bujold's streamlined writing and a genuinely funny main character who bluffs his way from challenge to challenge. I am not through with the whole series yet, but do take a bite every 1-2 months with another book that I devour in 1-2 evenings.

Stay Epic!

Best of the Best: Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere

 Of the reading I did in recent years, the nerdy centre has been Brandon Sanderson's oevre. His fantasy-that-is-close-to-SciFi style and worldbuilding is not for everybody, but it has me in its grip.

While he came to wider attention with his Mistborn series and by finishing Wheel of Time after Robert Jordan's untimely death, I consider his Stormlight Archive series to be my favourite. It combines an alien world with great character development, and it is currently at the halfway point of five out of ten books. His original fantasy stories are all connected in a greater "Cosmere", which enriches reading depth. I have recently finishes reading the last story part of the Cosmere, and even with Sanderson's driven writing speed (we are talking about a guy who wrote four extra books during the pandemic) it leaves me wanting for more.

Stay epic!

Best of the Best: The Dominions series

There is a series of fantasy strategy games that unites Spartan graphics, ultra-detailed mechanics and absolutely everything of myths, legends and fantasy lore into a single game: Dominions.

Currently at Dominions 6, it is the game for people who want to dig into fantasy warfare campaigns with micro- and macro-management and many opportunities for role playing.

Multiplayer mode and extensive mods (including randomized and a full-blown Forgotten Realms mod) on top of incredible customisation allow for incredible replayability. Sure, it is not an easy game to get into. But it tries to give lots of information on what is going on. Mostly.

If you enjoy old-school gaming and fantasy, give it a try.

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Best of the Best: Slay the Spire

 It occured to me that I could make up for my lack of content over the last decade with a series of posts about the "best" media that I encountered over that time. Favourite book series, long-time gaming favourites, whatever comes to my mind.

Let's start with Slay the Spire. In short, it is an unforgiving roguelite card builder game.

Collect cards, potions, and relics on your mission to slay the heart of the Spire. Do not expect to win often. One round going up to three hours for successful and complex builds, I can fit that time into even busy weeks without worries about RPG or strategy campaigns. I can even play it on the Switch. Oh, and part two is in development right now.

It is not a "new" game, but one that I come back to some time since years.